Lorna Luft | |
|---|---|
 Luft in 2010 | |
| Born | November 21, 1952 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | HB Studio |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer, author |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Liza Minnelli (half-sister) |
Lorna Luft (born November 21, 1952) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft, the sister of Joey Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli.
Luft was born on November 21, 1952, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California to Judy Garland and Garland's third husband, Sidney Luft. [1] She attended University High School in Los Angeles during her senior year and was a member of the school choir. She studied theatre at HB Studio [2] in New York City.
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(March 2021) |
Luft made her show business debut at age 11, singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" on the 1963 Christmas episode of Garland's CBS television series The Judy Garland Show . Siblings Liza Minnelli and Joey Luft also appeared. Garland sang the song "Lorna" to Luft on episode 20 of The Judy Garland Show in 1964: an original number composed by Mort Lindsey and Johnny Mercer especially for Luft at Garland's request. The song was later featured on the 2006 Garland compilation Great Day! Rare Recordings from the Judy Garland Show .
Luft soon joined the family act on a summer concert tour, the highlight of which was Garland's third and final appearance at New York's famed Palace Theatre on Broadway in 1967, two years before her mother's death. [3] In this month-long engagement, Garland "shared" the bill with Luft (then 14 years old) and Joey (12 years old). The show was recorded live and released on ABC Records as Judy Garland at Home at the Palace . [4]
Luft made her Broadway debut in 1971 at the Shubert Theatre as a replacement cast member in the musical Promises, Promises , adapted from the classic 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment . [5] It is best known for the hit song "I'll Never Fall in Love Again".
On October 7, 1981, Luft performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, which was said to be the culmination of a lifelong dream. She starred in the 1981–82 national tour of They're Playing Our Song , and in 1982 she played Paulette Rebchuck in Grease 2 . In 1983, she played Peppermint Patty in the off-Broadway production of Snoopy! The Musical , a sequel to You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown . [6] Later that year, she costarred in Extremities with Farrah Fawcett. [7] [8]
Luft appeared as Nurse Libby Kegler on the CBS television series Trapper John, M.D. during its final season of 1985–1986. She also appeared as Patti Bristol in "Broadway Malady", a 1985 episode of Murder, She Wrote . In the episode, Luft played the daughter of Vivian Blaine, who had originated the role of Adelaide in Guys and Dolls on Broadway, while Luft would go on to play the same role in the 1992–1994 national and worldwide tours.
In 1996, Luft appeared in an Irish production of Follies in Dublin with Mary Millar, Alex Sharpe, Christine Scarry, Aidan Conway, Enda Markey, Dave Willetts and Millicent Martin. In 2002, she starred as Mama Rose in a University of Richmond school production of Gypsy.
In December 1995, Luft released a cover version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", which was reworked as a "virtual duet" with Garland. Produced by Gordon Lorenz, it was issued as a CD single only in the U.K. by the Carlton Sounds label. A music video featured Luft performing the song in a studio interspersed with classic footage of Garland singing to a then-11-year-old Luft on the 1963 Christmas episode of The Judy Garland Show , all placed on the same screen. [9]
From November 2006 through January 2007, Luft performed in the U.K. premiere of Irving Berlin's White Christmas , a new stage adaptation based on the film. She reprised her role the next year, playing the Edinburgh Playhouse from November 19 to December 8, 2007, and the Wales Millennium Centre at the Donald Gordon Theatre from December 13, 2007, through January 12, 2008.
Luft appeared in four episodes of the 2007–2009 Logo animated series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World .
In October 2007, Luft released her debut album Lorna Luft: Songs My Mother Taught Me in the U.K. [10] Produced by Barry Manilow and Luft's husband Colin R. Freeman, the album celebrates Garland's music. In 2005, Luft toured Ireland with her stage show, Songs My Mother Taught Me. In June 2006, she surprised audiences at Carnegie Hall by performing a duet with Rufus Wainwright on the song "After You've Gone" at the end of Wainwright's tribute concert for Garland's triumphant 1961 comeback at the same venue.
Luft appeared in The Wizard Of Oz, a stage version of the movie that made Garland famous, at The Lowry in Manchester, England. She portrayed the role of the Wicked Witch of the West (played by Margaret Hamilton in the film).
In April 2009, Luft completed a successful U.K. tour of the critically acclaimed Hugh Whitemore play Pack of Lies , where she played the role of Helen Kroger, starring alongside Jenny Seagrove, Simon Shepherd, and Daniel Hill. In May 2009 she appeared in W magazine as a special guest performer for the acclaimed avant-garde Theo Adams Company's latest project, "Performance", photographed by David Sims. [11] In July 2009, she appeared at the Mermaid Theatre, London to record for the radio series Friday Night Is Music Night . Lorna Luft and Friends – A Tribute to Judy Garland also featured John Barrowman, Frances Ruffelle, and Linzi Hateley.
Between May and July 2015, Luft toured the U.K. in Judy - The Songbook of Judy Garland, a show highlighting Garland's life and music. The show featured her signature songs and recreations of film scenes from her MGM years.
Luft has appeared in the films Grease 2 (1982), Where the Boys Are '84 (1984), Fear Stalk (1989), 54 (1998) and My Giant (1998). She and her brother Joey made cameo appearances in the 1963 film I Could Go On Singing .
Luft is the author of the 1998 book Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir . Among its revelations is the fact that she had an affair with Barry Manilow in 1971. [12] In 2001, the book was adapted as an Emmy-winning TV miniseries titled Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows . It stars Judy Davis as the adult Judy, Tammy Blanchard as the teenage Judy, Hugh Laurie as Vincente Minnelli, Victor Garber as Sid Luft, and Marsha Mason as Ethel Gumm. Luft is the co-author, along with film historian Jeffrey Vance, of the 2018 book A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film That Got Away, which she states is "a vivid account of the film classic's production, loss, and reclamation." [13]
Luft participates in events which are held by various children's and AIDS-related charities, including the annual Los Angeles AIDS Walk and The Children's Wish Foundation International. [14] Luft and her first husband Jerry Mamberg, better known as Jake Hooker, divorced in 1993. They had two children together, a son, Jesse, a daughter, Vanessa, and have four grandchildren. [15] She currently resides in Palm Springs, California, with her second husband, the British-born composer and arranger, Colin Freeman. [16] [17]
Luft was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and she finished her last chemotherapy treatment in 2013. Two years later, the U.K. tour of Judy - The Songbook of Judy Garland concluded early on July 11, 2015 and she returned to the U.S. for surgical treatment following a re-emergence of the breast cancer. [18] [19]
In March 2018, Luft was diagnosed with a brain tumor after she collapsed following a performance in London. [20] Later that month, Luft underwent successful surgery to remove the tumor. [21]
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Songs My Mother Taught Me | First Night Records |
| Year | Single | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | "Our Day Will Come" b/w "Is It Really Love At All" | Epic |
| 1978 | "Head Over Heels" b/w "I Did It All For Love" | Private Stock |
| 1981 | "Long Time" b/w "Something's Got A Hold On My Heart" | DJM Records |
| "Get It Up" b/w "A Few Dollars More" | Silver Blue Records | |
| 1984 | "Where the Boys Are" (with Village People) b/w "Prove Me Wrong" | |
| "The Whole World's Goin' Crazee" b/w "Jesse's Theme" | ||
| 1989 | "Born Again" b/w "Born Again (instrumental)" | Dessca Records |
| 1995 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (with Judy Garland) | Carlton Sounds |
| 2011 | "When You Wish Upon a Star" | Silver Blue Records |
| Year | Album | Label | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Grease 2: Original Soundtrack Recording | RSO |
|
| 1990 | Girl Crazy (cast soundtrack) | Elektra |
|
| Year | Song(s) | Role | Album / Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)" with Judy Garland | Lead vocal | |
| "Jamboree Jones" | |||
| "Together (Wherever We Go)" | |||
| 1979 | "Accidents Never Happen" with Blondie | Back vocal | |
| "Slow Motion" | |||
| 1980 | [Several tracks] with Hilly Michaels | ||
| 1984 | [Several tracks] with Adrian Zmed |
| |
| 1991 | "A Gift of Hope" | Lead vocal |
|
| 1992 | "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" |
| |
| 1996 | "Not Even Nominated" (Medley) |
| |
| 1998 | [Several tracks] with Rick Derringer | Back vocal |
|
| 2007 | "After You've Gone" with Rufus Wainwright | Lead vocal | |
| 2011 | "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" with Matt Dusk |
| |
| 2019 | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" with Randy Rainbow |
| |
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | Buena Vista |
| Judy Garland: The Concert Years | Kultur Video | |
| 2006 | Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Hollywood Bowl | Image Entertainment |
| 2007 | Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy!: Live from the London Palladium | Geffen |
| 2009 | Lorna Luft: Live in Oz | Ovation |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | I Could Go On Singing | Girl on Boat | Uncredited |
| 1982 | Grease 2 | Paulette Rebchuck | |
| 1984 | Where the Boys Are '84 | Carole Singer | |
| 1989 | Fear Stalk | Doris | Television film |
| 1998 | My Giant | Joanne | |
| 54 | Elaine's Patron | ||
| 2017 | The Fabulous Allan Carr | Herself – Interview | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Love, American Style | Margie Currie | Segment: "Love and the Blue Plate Special" |
| 1975 | McCloud | Marlene Morgan | Episode: "Park Avenue Pirates" |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Patti Bristol | Episode: "Broadway Malady" |
| The Twilight Zone | Sheila Cunningham | Segment: "Children's Zoo" | |
| 1985–86 | Trapper John, M.D. | Nurse Libby Kegler | Main cast, 19 episodes (Season 7) |
| 1986 | Tales from the Darkside | Christine Matthews | Episode: "The Shrine" |
| 1988 | Hooperman | Peaches Markowitz | Episode: "The Naked and the Dead" |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Patsy Dumont | Episode: "If the Shoe Fits" |
| 1995 | The Nanny | Cousin Susan Rosenberg | Episode: "The Unkindest Cut" |
| Caroline in the City | Travel Agent Mindi | Episode: "Caroline and the Christmas Break" | |
| 2001 | Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | — | Miniseries; co-executive producer |
| 2007–09 | Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World | Joanna | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Sean Saves the World | Francine | Episode: "The Wrath of Sean" |
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim: as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles; as a recording artist; and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received a Golden Globe Award, a Special Tony Award and was one of twelve in history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award. Garland won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her 1961 live recording, Judy at Carnegie Hall; she was the first woman to win that award.
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is one of the very few performers awarded a non-competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis leading up to the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in the spring of 1904. The film stars Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main, June Lockhart and Joan Carroll.
Michael DeVinko, Jr., known as Mickey Deans, was an American musician and entrepreneur, and the fifth husband and widower of actress and singer Judy Garland.
The Boy from Oz is an Australian jukebox musical based on the life of singer and songwriter Peter Allen, featuring songs written by him. The book commissioned for the musical is by Nick Enright, based on Stephen MacLean's 1996 biography of Allen. Premiering in Australia in 1998 starring Todd McKenney, a revised version of the musical, written by Martin Sherman, opened on Broadway in 2003, with Hugh Jackman in the title role.
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in North American cinema.
"The Man that Got Away" is a torch song, published in 1953 and written for the 1954 version of the film A Star Is Born. The music was written by Harold Arlen, and the lyrics by Ira Gershwin. In 1954, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2004, Judy Garland's performance of the song was selected by the American Film Institute as the eleventh greatest song in American cinema history.
Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the "golden era of Hollywood".
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows is a 2001 American two-part, four-hour biographical television miniseries based on the 1998 book Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir written by Lorna Luft, the daughter of legendary singer-actress Judy Garland. The miniseries was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and originally broadcast in two parts on ABC on February 25 and 26, 2001.
Peter Allen was an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer, known for his flamboyant stage persona, energetic performances, and lavish costumes. Allen's songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, including Newton-John's first chart-topping hit "I Honestly Love You", and the chart-topping and Academy Award-winning "Arthur's Theme " by Christopher Cross. In addition to recording many albums, Allen enjoyed a cabaret and concert career, including appearances at the Radio City Music Hall riding a camel. His patriotic song "I Still Call Australia Home", has been used extensively in advertising campaigns, and was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.
End of the Rainbow is a musical drama by Peter Quilter, which focuses on Judy Garland in the months leading up to her death in 1969. After a premiere in Sydney, Australia in 2005, the show has played on the West End in London and a Broadway production opened at the Belasco Theatre in 2012. The award-winning 2019 film Judy starring Renée Zellweger is a screen adaptation of the play for which Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Garland.
Live at the Winter Garden is the second live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released in 1974. It is her second release under the Columbia Records label.
Judy Garland at Home at the Palace: Opening Night is a concert album by Judy Garland, released in 1967 through ABC Records. The album peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200.
Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace was a concert presented by Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre on Broadway from December 8, 1999 through January 2, 2000. The show consisted of songs featured in films directed by her father, Vincente Minnelli (1903–1986).
"Live" at the London Palladium is a live album by American singers and actresses Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, released in 1965 by Capitol Records.
Judy is a 2019 biographical drama film based on the life of American entertainer Judy Garland. Directed by Rupert Goold, it is an adaptation of the Olivier- and Tony-nominated West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter. The film stars Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon.
Billy Stritch is an American composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist. For many years, he was best known as a confidant, music director, and piano player for Liza Minnelli.
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